Porsche Accused of Cheating Emissions Tests to Cut UK Road Tax

The scandal of carmakers fiddling their emissions tests has moved on to Porsche, which is accused of gaming its participation in the UK's output categorising system by fudging a test where its cars were allowed to pull away in second gear.

The discovery was made in papers filed in an unrelated case, where Porsche was taken to court over maintenance complaints. Details showed that a test taken by its Cayman R was fiddled to allow it to pull away in a quieter, less violent and less polluting manner than usual driving would dictate, which is why the car managed to gets its carbon dioxide emission rating down to 221 g/km – beneath the UK's 226 g/km band, categorising it at a cheaper tax level and letting owners off the hook for £225 a year in excise duty.

The same car's sold elsewhere in Europe with a 228 g/km rating, which appears to be the smoking gun that says our Vehicle Certification Agency has been played in some way, either knowingly or unknowingly. Porsche has refused to comment. [The Times via Autocar]